.jpg)
1 hour ago
3
The United States roster for FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying this week has plenty of star power on it.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers are set for national team debuts alongside established Olympians like Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young when Team USA tips off qualifying tournament action against Senegal on Wednesday afternoon.
But the 12-player roster notably does not include A'ja Wilson, the biggest star of all.
Why isn't Wilson with Team USA in Puerto Rico
Curiously, not many eyebrows were raised when Team USA managing director Sue Bird did not select Wilson, the WNBA's only four-time MVP, to the qualifying tournament roster.
Basically, it was because Wilson has nothing else to prove by playing in the tournament, which takes place in San Juan between March 11 and March 17.
It is not uncommon for stars like Wilson or the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart to sit out mid-cycle tournaments like this one. No one doubts that -- barring injury -- both Stewart and Wilson will be part of the women's national team roster at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying tournament is a chance for Bird and national team head coach Kara Lawson to get a better look at players like Bueckers, Clark and Reese, as well as veterans like Monique Billings and Dearica Hamby, ahead of the Olympics.
It is no big deal that Wilson isn't with some of her national -- and Las Vegas Aces -- teammates in Puerto Rico. She may not even be with them in Germany for the World Cup itself, which takes place in Germany between Sept. 4 and 13.
English (US)